Paan Flavored Ice cream
A Rhetorical and Visual Analysis
By
Ruben Arzaga
Mrs. Cecilia Ramos English Evening Class
March 25, 2011
(Big Gulp ice cream: Paan)
The advertisement for Big gulp ice cream was created by advertising agency Oxygen Communications of New Delhi, India. Founded in 2002 by Tarun das Aniruddha Mukherjee Raj Supe, Oxygen Communications uses visual art designs to promote company names and their products through designs, logos, and advertisements. Some of their clients include Revlon and the World Health Organization (Oxygen Communications).
The promotion is for paan flavored ice cream. Paan is areca nut wrapped in a betel leaf and is traditionally chewed after meals. It is commonly practiced in southeastern Asia, Pakistan and India (Paan, 2011).
The image portrays green ice cream topped with what possibly might be areca nut served in a leaf cone in front of a green background. The leaf cone is held together by a stick. All these green colored and natural elements imply that the ice cream is itself all natural. It also suggests that the product is environmentally friendly or nature related. Although paan is made from betel leaves, it is not served in its own leaf cone. However, the leaf can serve as a garnish. The irony of portraying an all-natural paan flavored ice cream is that chewing paan is known to be a cancer causing carcinogen (Stanley, 2010).
The rhyming text “have a bite of nature’s delight” located at the bottom center of the page makes it easy to remember as a jingle. The orange and yellow text contrasts well with the green elements that serve as the background and is overall visually pleasing. The cone definitely is the predominant focus of the advertisement. Without the picture, the text would probably not have the same effect.
Works Cited
Paan. (2011, March 18). Retrieved march 25, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan
Big Gulp ice cream: Paan. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2011, from Ads of the World: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/big_gulp_ice_cream_paan
Oxygen Communications. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2011, from Oxygen Communications web site: http://findoxygen.com/
Stanley, J. (2010, November 30). Features Culture. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from New York Press: http://www.nypress.com/article-21910-confessions-of-a-white-middle-aged-paan-eater.html
